Family

This time of the year is insane. In around a forty day span, we celebrate a slew of holidays (depending on religious/cultural/ sanity backgrounds) and ring in a new year with the promise and hope of a better tomorrow. For most of us, this means that we will be spending a great deal of time with family over the next few weeks. In my family alone, we had Thanksgiving celebrations last week, will have Christmas get-togethers, then we will travel 9 hours to go to a cousin's wedding. Whole lotta family, not a lotta time.

Luckily, my family is pretty awesome, so it's not a burden at all. My dad's side of the family is full of wannabe (and should be) comedians. I can't remember the last time we were all together that we weren't in stitches from a story my dad or his siblings told (most of the time, at their spouse's expense). Even when we are going through a dark time or rough patch, just being in the room with them makes things seem warmer and a little easier to make it through. It's a pretty large group when we are all together. I have on that side of the family alone, 2 uncles, 3 aunts, 8 cousins (some by marriage), 3 baby second cousins (soon to be four), and a grandmother. Not including my nuclear family (Mom, Dad, Sis, and Me). The Kelly household is full (and I mean FULL) of fun and love.

My mom's side of the family offers a much quieter, yet just as warm and loving atmosphere. My two uncles and aunts are so kind and wise. My two older cousins and their NINE CHILDREN (yeah...they're both in their early thirties...go girls) live farther away, so getting to see them is always so sweet and fun. I mean, nine kids- it's not going to ever be boring. My two younger cousins and their step sisters (who are just as much family as anyone else)  live even farther away, so it's always really special when we are together. The visits are more spread out, but we still make the most of our time together. There's a whole lot of love there that you can instantly feel when you walk in the room. This is the group getting together for the wedding, and it is sure to be a fantastic weekend.

Since it is the holiday season, and I'm a huge fan of Christmas music, I immediately whipped out the Christmas playlists as soon as lunch was done on Thanksgiving Day and got into the holiday swing. One of my favorite CD's to listen to is the soundtrack to A Christmas Carol starring Kelsey Grammer as Scrooge. It's a musical (duh) that was created by some of my favorite composers and lyricists, and it really sets the tone for me of what this season is really about. There's one song called "Christmas Together" that causes me to weep every time I hear it. As I was driving (read- sobbing) down the highway the other day, one verse of the song really jumped out at me.

Gather and sing of this glorious thing

Known as Christmas together,

Families created by friendship

as well as by birth,

Yeah, my family is pretty awesome, but that doesn't just mean my biological family. I have some of the most amazingly talented, loving, compassionate, insane people surrounding me, and I am so grateful for that. I didn't jump on the whole "30 days of thanks" facebook post bandwagon, but I can pretty much guarantee that it would have been dominated by these people in my life.

It seems like so many people these days are so concerned with themselves- how do I make the most of myself? How do I get as far as I can? What can I do to be greater? That's not what it's about. I truly believe that our main purpose in life is to enhance and empower the lives of those around us and to all grow together. Looking back on the past year, I truly feel that I have surrounded myself with a group of like-minded folk who truly make my life amazing. THAT is what I am thankful for: my family.